Bose SoundDock Series II heading to a den near you this September

Say what you will about Bose's price to performance ratio, that company knows how to move iPod docks. The Bose SoundDock and SoundDock Portable have an astounding hold on the premium end of the iPod accessory market, and the SoundDock Series II followup likely won't be breaking that streak. The new Series II dock has a slightly refined look, more akin to the SoundDock Portable than the original, includes an aux-in jack (at last), and can charge the iPhone 3G -- a sore point for folks who've been charging their iPods and iPhones just fine on the original SoundDock for years, only to have the legacy-free iPhone 3G do them in. The Series II dock also includes the Portable's more advance remote for browsing playlists and such. Price is $299, it should ship starting in September.

[From My Cube @ Aug 21st 2008 3:23PM]

I have pitty for anyone who buys into Bose "premium" sound;I have yet to hear any Bose setup that actually sounded worth the inflated price.

[tom @ Aug 21st 2008 3:40PM]

No highs, no lows, Must be BOSE.

[From My Cube @ Aug 21st 2008 3:49PM]

Anyone know how to get an avatar uploaded? I have done it a few times and my picture never shows up??

Engadget comment system...FTWBBQLAWNDARTS

[RD. @ Aug 21st 2008 3:56PM]

Logitech seems to make some products that spank Bose. I picked up the Audiostation and am in the market for something else as well:

Can anyone recommend other good iPod docks?

[Josh Warner @ Aug 21st 2008 4:58PM]

RD:

In all seriousness, put your money into a receiver & speakers. All it needs to be is stereo. Then get one of those

[Josh Warner @ Aug 21st 2008 5:00PM]

Apparently 'less than' signs mean 'goodbye rest of your comment.' Here's what should have been above.

'less than' $5 cords from Radio Shack's non-Monster, non-Gold series that takes a stereo plug and outputs RCA (the red & white jacks, standard for analog audio).

Plug the thing in, enjoy sound that spanks ANY of these docks. If you can access the line-out from an existing dock, that's better than the stereo jack.

That setup you can use for CDs, LPs, cassettes, satellite radios, tuners, and anything else that has a line-out. You can upgrade it, too, getting better sound all the way. Any iPod dock locks you into not a non-upgradeable, non-extensible, proprietary system, dependent on the physical hardware of the current iPod lines. Apple could change it without notice and then you're SOL. Buy a real system instead.

[zargon @ Aug 21st 2008 7:58PM]

I think my favorite Bose saying is: "Better sound through marketing."

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 3:24PM]

A one-two punch of marketing titans.

"Say what you will about Bose's price to performance ratio"

well people still buy Monster Cable at WorstBuy, eh?

[phanbouy fan @ Aug 21st 2008 3:37PM]

it is not worst buy, it is best buy. but i think you probably did that on purpose to be sarcastic because you shop at other places because you know better.

[Peter @ Aug 21st 2008 3:44PM]

Especially when you can get an 6' hdmi cable with about the same quality for $10 CAD; it's just sad how stupid some people are...

[Kamokazi @ Aug 21st 2008 3:25PM]

"Say what you will about Bose's price to performance ratio"

Okay. It sucks.

With the *possible* exception of their headphones, Bose stuff sounds average at best, and is by no means worth half of its price. They prey upon the uninformed with too much money.

[Josh Warner @ Aug 21st 2008 6:00PM]

Headphones are no exception. Spend that money on a pair of Sennheiser HD600 or HD650, or a good IEM from Shure/Ultimate Ears if you need isolation. A direct comparison between these would leave the Bose Tri-whatever-the-call-'em-these-days or their QuietComforts crying for shame.

I will never give Bose a cent, and I encourage you not to either.

[Kamokazi @ Aug 21st 2008 6:20PM]

That's why I said *possible*.

Their QC headphones actually sound pretty good but are overpriced by a rediculous amount like everything else. (Their other stuff just sounds mediocre and is also outrageously overpriced.) With that said I have a pair of Sennheiser PXC300's that you would have to pry out of my cold, dead, hands before I'd even think of touching a pair of QC3's.

[torqueo @ Aug 21st 2008 3:27PM]

Bose = fail by default.

[letstakeawalk @ Aug 21st 2008 3:34PM]

Hey, play nice! I have a pair of Bose 6.2's that I pulled out of a garbage bin... they sound just fine listening to talk radio in the shop! I guess it's that price/performance thing: since they were free, I can't complain.

But for music? No way. That's what the Yamaha B-2 and the Bozak 305's are for...

[George @ Aug 21st 2008 3:40PM]

Why won't the iPhone3G charge on older docks and 3rd party FM transmitters?

[Striker @ Aug 21st 2008 3:49PM]

Because it dropped the old FireWire charging spec that was integrated into the Dock Connector, even though all the other iPods and iPhones support it.

[liteweight @ Aug 21st 2008 3:46PM]

oh well, put me down as a fool because I've had the soundock for longer than I can remember, and it continues to work fabulously, inside and outside, at parties, and my wedding (could be heard easily over 70 people at the reception).

And now I can stream any Internet stream through it with my iPhone, I've gotten my $$$ worth, though this "new" model is $50 more than the original, so unless you have a 3G iPhone, you may want to go find the original.

[mike77 @ Aug 21st 2008 3:52PM]

If none of you like Bose and just want to be negative, then what do you rock to? I guess it is all biased to your hearing anyways, no? I mean I have had Bose in all my vehicles, home, and their headphones. Tell me where you can find a better price-to-performance ratio? Please tell me?

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:06PM]

um... any other stereo maker?

[Colin Potter @ Aug 21st 2008 4:07PM]

Klipsch, JBL, Yamaha, Onkyo, Polk Audio, JL, Kicker, Sennheiser, Audio Authority, Bowers & Wilkins, Mirage, Snell, Velodyne, Infinity, Energy, HSU, Axiom, Aperion....

Need I go on?

[telepheedian @ Aug 21st 2008 4:11PM]

For headphones, I would try the head-fi forums for a start. The stuff that people talk about there can be far more expensive than bose, but most headphones in the $100 range should destroy any of the triport models. If you want earphones, I would look at the Shure e2cs, they're being discontinued, so you can get them dirt cheap right now. (about $60) Of course, they were still a better buy than bose at their original price, $100. You probably just need to go to some real equipment stores, instead of best buy/target.

[letstakeawalk @ Aug 21st 2008 4:16PM]

Colin Potter provides an excellent list of manufacturers who are superior to Bose, but I'd also like to add the many vintage pieces of equipment (esp. Marantz and the original "Mac" - McIntosh) that provide tremendous "bang for the buck". My Bozak 305's cost a whopping $100, and they can be connected to any amp or reciever you choose (meaning you don't have to buy a new one when Apple "upgrades" the next generation...)

Here's an interesting opinion of Bose and their marketing prowess, plus links to the OEMs:

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

[Alan @ Aug 21st 2008 4:17PM]

Paradigm Monitor series + Harman Kardon receivers, Grado headphones, Etymotic/Shure earphones for me.

[zargon @ Aug 21st 2008 8:34PM]

Good to see some Paradigm love.

I love my Paradigm Studio series speakers. My next upgrade though may be B&W Nautilus 800 series, but the Paradigm Signature series is always in the running.

[Paul Mensah @ Aug 21st 2008 3:52PM]

I had Bose speakers installed in my 2009 Mercedes C350 and trust me they sound great ... im only a 20 year old freshman in college and the ladies can hear me coming from a mile away.

[Colin Potter @ Aug 21st 2008 4:08PM]

give em a good running headstart?

[Boozy Funk @ Aug 21st 2008 4:14PM]

What? An IPhone wasnt enough of a conversation starter to pick up the ladies?
Oh well, hopefully loud speakers will compensate for being completely vacuous...

"They prey upon the uninformed with too much money."

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:15PM]

Trust-fund baby exhibit A

[George @ Aug 21st 2008 4:17PM]

You really opened yourself up for that, Paul.

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:22PM]

wait, no, i take that back. given that my ability to generate maximum decibels and annoy neighbors is my top criteria for price/performance; i'll take the little snotrag's opinion at face value.

[From My Cube @ Aug 21st 2008 4:32PM]

what idiot buys and replaces only the stock speakers. For one thing MB speakers stock are pretty damn good and then you slap crap in there that will be underpowered...you sir are a man of genius. I hope your higher education of choice serves you well and we all know that being an arrogant ass attracks the ladies....good luck with your studies and herpes

[CW @ Dec 16th 2008 9:55AM]

I call BS on you, Paul. Bose audio in cars only comes as a factory-installed option because the systems are specifically designed for each car model. Mercedes uses Harmon/Kardon in the C350.

You are a troll, and if my guess is right, you're actually a Bose-h8r stirring the anti-Bose folks up in a frenzy by throwing out a nice juicy stereotype for attack.

FAIL

[scott @ Aug 21st 2008 4:53PM]

you're a 20 year old freshman? dude, i'll graduate college when i'm 21.

[Matchu @ Aug 25th 2008 10:09AM]

I think you guys might need to get your internet-sarcasm detectors checked out. They seem to be on the fritz.

[zargon @ Aug 21st 2008 7:57PM]

"you're a 20 year old freshman? dude, i'll graduate college when i'm 21."

So, I am technically a 28 year old junior... that is if I was going to college, what does it matter?

College isn't for everyone, or people don't always start right after High School.

[Freddie Freeloader @ Aug 21st 2008 4:10PM]

The BOSE sounds like a cat crapping on a hot tin roof, *Sizzle sizzle*
@Paul Manesh, the ladies hear you coming from a mile away, pretentious idiot alarm hahahah what do they do? RUN AWAY.

[Keisha Kornbread @ Aug 21st 2008 4:13PM]

I have the SoundDock Portable and I love it. I don't care what anyone else says but I love the fact that the battery lasts me over 12 hours at the office without recharging and it can crank out my tunes superbly. It was a chunk of change to get, but what else out there can compete with the easy to tote design, great sound and long battery life.

It may not be audiophile quality sound, but what portable iPod docking system out there is? You guys need to stop trying to compare this thing to component reference systems and judge it by what it is inteneded for and how well it does do it.

[Lamentation @ Aug 21st 2008 4:31PM]

Try the Harman Kardon Go + Play - if you have the money to burn, it blows other dedicated ipod docks away. I have bought factory refurbished units as low as $120 on ebay with no issues, but they retail around $350.

[Eric @ Aug 21st 2008 4:19PM]

So, it's faster than Firewire 1600. Considering Firewire 3200 just got certified, that would qualify as a straw man now, wouldn't it? :-D

As for SATA, didn't SATA 3 just get certified too? Nobody is standing still.

And is USB 3 free of the problems that made USB 2 so much slower than its rated speed that Firewire 400 continually proved the faster way to go in spite of being rated at 400 while USB 2 was 480? The problems I'm referring to is the fact that you had to have a port for each peripheral, and that the processor has to be involved with moving data, whereas in Firewire the processor was left alone. Streaming is clearly better than packet-based data transfer for anything other than a bunch of tiny files.

[cseabrooks @ Aug 21st 2008 4:21PM]

Why so expensive?

[Eric @ Aug 21st 2008 4:21PM]

I'm still waiting for the Bang & Olufsen unit.

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:23PM]

i get good use out of my Bang Unit, too

[happy_penguin @ Aug 21st 2008 4:33PM]

It's going to cost a lot more than this.

[Eric @ Aug 21st 2008 4:23PM]

Sorry for the firewire comment. That was 1Password running amok.

[happy_penguin @ Aug 21st 2008 4:31PM]

Bose products sound fine. Not perfect but hardly the crap people are saying here. Bose 901 are one of the most successful speaker systems ever and they've been around for decades.

[letstakeawalk @ Aug 21st 2008 4:45PM]

Ah yes, the 901's. Near to the 6th generation by now, aren't they? Still cost around $1500 or so, they haven't figured out that economy of scale yet? The ones that are worthless without the mandatory equalizer unit, and are very picky about how they are placed in the listening room? The ones that are a nightmare to repair b/c of having so many tiny drivers?

I wonder what the experts at "Stereophile" magazine thought:

"We don't wish to give the impression, though, that the 901 is a dull-sounding system...
If we were to judge the 901 in terms of the best sound available, then, we would say that it produces a more realistic semblance of natural ambience than any other speaker system, but we would characterize it as unexceptional in all other respects."

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/425/index.html (granted, the review is of the original series I's in 1975, but I wonder why they haven't reviewed them since?)

[happy_penguin @ Aug 21st 2008 9:44PM]

I guess you just read what you want to read. How typically internets. Well, anybody can play that game.

From your link:

"Perhaps the most important single factor in the 901's sales is its awesomely spacious sound, which makes other systems in a showroom sound a bit trivial, as if the Bose is the Truth and the Light, and the others are just playing around. The 901 sounds fantastically open and spacious, with a big, fat low end and a socko you-are-there presence that seems to put the performers right in the room, surrounded by the original auditorium."

[arfster @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:01AM]

Buy
Other
Sound
Equipment


There's a reason Bose advertise in fashion magazines, and are a joke among audiophiles (despite pricing their mediocre junk at premium audiophile prices).

[mememe @ Aug 22nd 2008 8:56AM]

Yeah but does it still have that nauseating one-note bass of the original?